With over 1.5 million page views, Le Noeud Papillon's blog continues to provide lovers of bow ties with unique stories and content relating to menswear through interviews with industry icons and vignettes into topics relating to suits, shirts, shoes, ties, designers, weavers and much more.

Google Le Noeud Papillon's Blog

Translate This Blog

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Recently a friend of mine put me onto a website called Chrono24 and between that and Ebay I have found about fifteen watches I would easily consume if I were a rich man but owing to my bank balance and my recent philosophical crutch of Stoicism I have managed to look but not desire to touch.

In the late 1990's I bought an Omega Seamaster and it was for many years my pride and joy. However, as time wore on I came to find it impractical. I did not like the size of the face or the weight of the bracelet and with time I found myself, the more I worked on computers, not wanting to wear a wrist watch. That changed when in the mid 2000's I purchased a used Rolex Air King from the sister of Elle McPherson. It had originally belonged to the supermodel but she palmed it off to her sister who palmed it off to me. For a smaller wristed bloke like myself it was the ideal size and weight that allowed me to look elegant and keep typing.

One of the things that puts me off these days about Rolex and the like is that there is a preference to have these clunky heavy bracelets coupled with larger 41mm watch heads. The pursuit of bling over taste has been fortunate for those who prefer understated elegance as the previous model 36mm faces seem to be overlooked on the used market and can be bought for much better prices. And if you can find one that's just the face and not the bracelet, the price often comes down substantially again.

One of the most elegant wrist watches I have seen in the last three years was a brown copper face Rolex Daytona on a brown crocodile leather strap finished in rose gold. These watches, new, are a large face and up to $30,000 AUD to purchase. So what if you wanted to get the same look on a smaller face? The answer is that it is possible to do with very little money.

Places such as Wholesale Outlet 990 offer a variety of leather straps with deployment clasps that look almost identical to the real thing. So long as you marry up the the mm width of the lugs on a watch face with one of these bands, it is possible to give a new lease of life to a vintage watch face coupled with the practicality of both being lighter than a bracelet. Add to this a deployment clasp which makes the watch easier to get on an off and improves the lifespan of the leather and you have, in my opinion, a no brainer. Let the bling blingers have their huge faces and big bracelets and give me a lighter less intense watch that can allow me to keep typing.

NB: For those of you residing in Sydney who are looking for a quick fix, try LG Humphries & Sons at 151 Castlereagh Street, Sydney as they keep both leather bands in stock along with deployment clasps and have a number of vintage watch heads on display from the best brands. Click here

So what do you need to do in order to achieve this?

1. Purchase a vintage watch from the likes of Ebay or Chrono24

2. Find out the size of the lugs on either side of the watch face and whether they are simple enough to attach with spring bars. The older the model the less complicated this will be.

3. Purchase a leather strap through the likes of Wholesale Outlet 990 . Your preference, if you are strapped for time, is to choose one pre-made with a deployment clasp.

4. Wait patiently for the postman.

5. Remove the existing bracelet or springs bars from your watch face.

6. Load the springs into the ends of your new leather watch strap if they are not already in place.

7. Load the springs onto the lugs.

8. Adjust the size of the strap.

An example of a faux crocodile watch strap in ever green with a Rolex Daytona styled deployment clasp which was applied to a vintage watch head. The green strap can be purchased from Wholesale Outlet 990 on Ebay.

I really like Vianel . I found them on Instagram a while back and I have been meaning to try out their wares for some time. The eternal problem facing wallets for me is that credit cards and membership cards can vary between countries and so too can currency. The Australian dollar notes, as many of you who have ventured here would know, are made of polymer and are a unique size very different from the Euro, Sterling or Greenback. Accordingly the hunt for great wallets is a tiring pursuit since the brands that make the best products such as Hermes and Smythson often concentrate on wallets for currencies where they will most be used. The only place I have found for great Australian wallets is DiCroco in Darwin which used to hold a store in Sydney but no longer does.

For this reason I was attracted to Vianel because they seemed to understand that men want something sleek and made of a nice quality leather but finished in a manner which was more 2016 than for a man who was trying to fit all sorts of currencies in his wallet.

I purchased what was called their V1 wallet during their sample sale. The wallet is made very well and the quality of the leather is as good as that which is in my Hermes card holder. However, I don't wish to see Vianel go out of business so I offer them my constructive criticism.

Firstly, the box that it arrived in was a size overkill. After removing the stuffing I found the original box for the item. It was made of a reasonable but not exciting matte black cardboard with some embossed foil in gold which was not particularly well done. Inside the box in tissue paper was another plain white pouch, unbranded and relatively unexciting. The wallet itself, when I went to check my credit cards and place them in, was unable to sit the cards one on top of the other without making the wallet look awkward. When you use the rear pouch to then place say 2 credit cards and 1 drivers licence, the wallet looks altogether unbalance and so stuffed full that there is no room to add in any folded cash or a new contacts business card. It also makes it near impossible to retrieve your second or third card without having to use considerable force.

Finally, the gold foil embossing on the leather was not particularly clear. When it is a new or emerging brand you are always willing to forgive these sorts of details but in the long run, when you consider future purchases, these things become very important. It's the reason why I return to Smythson and to a lesser more infrequent respect, Hermes.

I hope that Vianel keeps refining their product because I think it's a great looking brand with a great future and I look forward to giving them more of my support and business when they do.

When the USD was at parity with the AUD six years ago two visiting American friends of mine, one a New Yorker, the other a Bostonian, decided to piss themselves when at a Christmas cocktail party someone said in a laconic Australian voice to them "yeah, the dollar's about 'even Stevens' at the moment" . It became immediately apparent that the expression which was part of our vernacular down under, evidently was very fresh on these two.

At the time those two Americans were quick to complain that the trip was costing them a pretty penny and not what they imagined of Australia and what it would do to their American dollar wallets. Sydney, especially, is a very expensive city to live in or visit.

The good news is that the AUD is dropping in value and it's making our products much more alluring to those overseas. I had a look on the Barney's website today for bow ties ( click here ) and to be frank, we kick ass all over the selection and now our prices are far more competitive against even their house brand bow ties, especially when you factor in our regular discount offers to newsletter readers.

Perhaps 'Even Stevens' might not gel with Americans, not even Cheap As Chips (fries in the USA), but certainly Bang For Buck is a universally appreciated expression and so too is Make Hay Whilst The Sun Shines.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Recently in a newsletter to our customers I mentioned a book that was given to me by my dear underground informant Carlos Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer had retreated from society for a bit after he got hooked onto the principles of Stoic philosophy. Swept up in the book he felt compelled to offload by sending me a copy. I read it and some of the basic principles of Stoic philosophy are in complete contrast to that of an aesthete, or at least that of an aesthete who indulges in consumerism. Both luxurious living and the search for fame are frowned upon by the Stoics. The Roman Stoics didn't mind if you received either in your lifetime, but said the only way one could enjoy them was to be indifferent to their presence in your life.

One of the notable Roman Stoics was Cato. In an excerpt from the book "A Guide To The Good Life: The Ancient Art Of Stoic Joy" the author states "not because he sought vain glory but because he wished to be indifferent to trends, Cato would make a point of wearing things that were contrary to the dictates of fashion at the time. If they wore light purple robes, he wore dark. If his peers wore shoes, he wore none."

Cato was attempting to purposefully trigger their disdain merely so that he could observe their disregard for his clothing so that he might practice the art of ignoring their opinions.

This follows on from a Stoic principle that one should never pursue fame. In order to pursue fame the Stoics believed that we in fact have to expend a great deal of energy trying to make ourselves appealing to others. In that sense we almost have to adopt their values or if not their own values at the very least what their values dictate that we should be. Realising how difficult and time consuming this must be, the Stoics therefore came to the conclusion that the benefits conferred by fame are in fact outweighed by the cost to our own enjoyment of life. Fame, it seems, and fashion, go hand in hand. One only needs to look at the amount of energy expended by men who turn up to Pitti to recognise that.

The book, that I have partially but not fully read, caused me stop at some point and question everything around me and potentially put my ship off course. "What is the point of wearing nice clothes then?" I pondered. How can we continue to enjoy nice things? To consume?

The Roman Stoics were not, however, against enjoyment of life and it's pleasures, both the simple and the more complex. They did however suggest that we should not cling to these things to make us happy. We should not seek fame because of the cost to our own personal enjoyment of life. We should not pursue wealth to fund a luxurious lifestyle for this in itself is a vicious cycle of expending more and more energy to consume more and more pleasures.

Instead the Stoics ask us to routinely negatively visualise what we do have. That is, instead of looking always to the next purchase or the next thing we wish to consume, consider instead the things of which you have being taken away from you. The moment you think of your favourite tie or trousers being removed from your life, you at once begin to be grateful and thankful for everything you do have in your wardrobe. I don't mean to be naff by referencing menswear, but it seems a fitting enough place to start for this blog. Perhaps first start with your family, your friends, the food on your table, your home, your car. Then work your way to the less important things such a your clothes.

So, for this week I ask you to give thanks for the things you do have and if you want to pay them some respect, consider the two links below:

Meanwhile, I intend to get back to that book over the weekend so that Oppenheimer and I can don some dark purple robes and walk the streets of Sydney looking for an honest man and eschewing worldly goods... Or maybe I will just prune and press my bow tie collection and polish my shoes.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

As I promised, I wanted you all to see how I press our bow ties to bring them back to life after being tied.

Owing to our unique hook system for bow ties some of our customers will leave the bow ties tied for months without unfastening them. When they finally do prior to their next engagement they are obviously concerned when it unravels crinkly and in some cases needing a pruning.

The pruning, which we spoke of here, can be done relatively quickly and it should be followed by ironing the silk but by placing a piece of lint-free cloth between the silk and the steam iron to ensure that the heat does not scold the silk. Scolded silk can really ruin the beauty of the fabric - especially in the likes of brilliantly finished mogador satin silks.

At a function recently I spotted a customer of mine wearing a beautiful bow tie of ours but it was frayed and look dog-eared. I almost jumped over two pews to get to him and say "this is not on" but it was not his fault - how should he know how to prune and maintain his bow tie?

The worst offenders of silks are of course the polka dot variety. Any time you lance silk during the weaving process, such as you do with polka dots, you are bound to get frays happening. A buyer from David Jones once started pulling at my polka dots in front of me and saying "I need to test your silk because the inferior Chinese stuff frays". I'm afraid it doesn't matter what mill you use, if it's woven silk, the polka dots will fray. Only printed polka dots on silk twills will not fray.

Looking after your bow tie is it's own art form. You need to have the right two tools - a pair of finger scissors and a bic lighter. Then you need to patiently prune off with the finger scissors what you can and with the remaining loose strands of silk you need to run that bic lighter close to singe the hairs, but not too close that you will burn the cloth. So, for all those I have not yet had the pleasure of educating personally I made up this short video.

I hope you enjoy it and pass it on. Nobody wants to stand in church next to a chap with a dog eared bow tie.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Although we got cleaned up on the first two waves of production of stock, we have still a few models left on the website www.mothofsydney.com and in the coming days we will be uploading new models which will be in by the end of Janaury or the first week of February.

Feel free at the same time to join our mailing list on the homepage if you want to be informed once the next drop comes off the bench.

Australia Day is a bone of contention for indigenous Australians and rightly so. We usurped this land from them and considered it to be void of a culture and overlooked what was in fact one of the oldest cultures in the world.

However, we cannot change what did occur and I can't help but adore this new tongue in cheek commercial for Australian lamb which is headed up by our legendary veteran cricket commentator Richie Benaud. Traditionally the greatest television commercials in Australia were reserved for breweries so it is refreshing to see our nation getting it's artistic talents up for what is a wonderful national product.

And my recommendation: Lamb cutlets crumbed with egg yolk, flower and crumbs and then placed in the oven at 160 degrees celsius for 30 minutes. Add some fresh ailoi and a garden salad with shallots and avocado and finish it off with a chocolate paddle pop for dessert. Sometimes it's the simple things that count!

When Evelyn Waugh's somewhat self-autobiographical character Charles Ryder first stumbled upon his darling Sebastian Flyte at Oxford the first thing he noted was that he was wearing a silk tie from Charvet of Paris. It is one of those literary references that can keep a brand going forever in the hearts of aesthetes and so long as people keep revisiting Brideshead (pun intended), then so too will they revisit the likes of Charvet.

In a small win for us I received a lovely email from a student at Oxford. Not the first we've had wear our bow ties but the first we've received a lovely compliment from and with permission we are posting it below along with the more 'bohemian' bow tie he chose.

Dear Le Noeud Papillon Of Sydney,Many thanks for your prompt response. I did - as you might have seen - buy the bow tie. I will wear it as part of the formal academic dress at my university and hence a slightly “bohemian" look is much welcomed.This isn’t the first bow tie I have bought from Le Noeud Papillon and I just thought I should let you know how pleased I am with my other ones. They look terrific and add the perfect touch to one’s black tie attire. Nowhere else have I seen the breadth of choice and level of quality when it comes to bow ties!Best wishes,P. Zelter, Oxford, England

At it's widest point the spade head is 6cm
whereas the modified butterfly is 6.5cm. I don't recommend the Harrison unless you are
specifically seeking out that shape. It is very specific and has a
certain look which is slightly bohemian, slightly left of centre. It's
fabulous on the right person but be advised it's not every one's
cup of tea. The more classic shape on the website, the white
diamond, is far more popular.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

I have not heard anyone talk about 2014 so far without mentioning the highs and lows of the year. It was one of those years where you never felt you got a totally clear and smooth patch of sailing. The year had all sorts of twists and turns from planes vanishing without trace and another being shot down, the death of some beloved people such as Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Phillip Seymour Hoffman; an Ebola break out, beheadings online and culminating in a seige in Martin Place, Sydney in December. One could never truly relax in 2014. Somehow, as always, the world kept spinning regardless and in between all of this tragedy and despair we managed to knock out some great blog posts of which I rummaged through this morning.

George G. Hatzizahariou started LoveGreece to promote everything Greek and to bring some Greek Chic back to tourism products from Greece along with provenance and quality of make and cloth.

The LoveGreece product range is made from cotton which is planted and harvested in Greece and is woven, dyed, sewn and finished between Greece and Macedonia.

Recently a sample of the product was given to me by a prominent young Greek Australian businessman who had come across the product recently in Greece. We had been discussing our own pop-over collared t-shirt business, Moth Of Sydney , when he said "you know how proud you are of Sydney, well there's a guy doing the same sort of thing but it's out of Greece but he's doing round neck t-shirts".

For most of us that have bought Greek souvenir t-shirts or one of those brocade numbers over the past 30 years you will recall that when you meander under those yellowish lights at night around the Old City in Rhodes you tend to come back to your hotel with something very, dare I say it, I may since I am Greek Australian myself - 'woggy'. And over the years I have worn these items once, maybe twice and then shelved them until they eventually made their way to a clothes bin or into the deep archives of my storage room.

LoveGreece is therefore a refreshing change to all that. It is a paradigm shift because it has an authentic DNA. The cotton is planted in the spring in Thessaly, then it is harvested in the autumn before ginning, sewing, stamping and packaging occurs between Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace. And then it is ready to be sold on the website www.lovegreece.com.gr . The marketing is also completely in tune with the brand - it is all about a love of Greece. A country many of us have soaked up sun in. A country that, even if you are not Greek Australian or Greek American, chances are you know someone who is or you've done the tourist trip at some stage.

I am here to tell you that on top of having stumbled upon the brand in conversation I have indeed worn the t-shirt too and it is not only a very suitable and comfortable cotton jersey but the colour is a lovely faded blue and the cut is perfectly fine. I am only disappointed that they don't make a XXL for ' hondros ' like me (according to my limited knowledge of Greek a hondro is a 'fat boy' ). The t-shirt also comes with an 'evil eye' or 'mati' which will ward off bad spirits in that classic Greek souvenir kind of way.